Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 officially announced: here are the details

As promised, Lenovo just made the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus official at a press event in India. Let’s break down today’s announcement, with more details to follow as Lenovo reveals them.

Moto G4 Plus

The star of the show is the Moto G4 Plus, the higher-end version of this affordable duo.

The various leaks from the past weeks were largely spot on: the device comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD screen, after all three previous generations launched with 720p screens. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen, which boasts an excellent 401 ppi pixel density.

The processor inside the Moto G4 Plus is an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor. 2GB or 4GB of RAM are available, while storage space is either 16, 32 or 64GB, expandable via microSD.

The front of the device sports a rectangular fingerprint sensor. Lenovo claims the sensor should be able to unlock the device in 750 milliseconds; for comparison, the Nexus 6P’s fingerprint reader is rated for around 600 milliseconds, so the budget Moto G4 seems quite competent.

Motorola made a big deal about the camera on the Moto G4 Plus. Older phones in the series have had decent cameras, but with the G4 Plus, Lenovo appears to be taking things up a notch. There’s a 16MP OmniVision sensor equipped with phase detection autofocus and laser autofocus, which puts the G4 Plus at the top of its price range, according to Lenovo. The hardware is complemented by software features like Professional Mode, Auto HDR, and Drag to Adjust Focus & Exposure. The front shooter is 5MP, with a 84-degree wide field of view and f/2.2 lens.

Lenovo says the camera on the Moto G4 Plus was “rated highly” by DxoMark, but the photographic specialist’s ranking isn’t yet updated with the new phone.

The battery is quite impressive as well: 3000 mAh, that is capable of adding six hours worth of power in just 15 minutes with a Turbo Charger.

The Moto G4 Plus (like the Moto G4) runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

In the UK, the Moto G4 Plus will be available from mid-June for £199. In India, the Moto G4 Plus will cost 13,499 rupees for the 16GB/2GB RAM version, the equivalent of $200. The 32GB/3GB model will cost 14,999 rupees, or $225. As previously announced, Amazon India will be the exclusive launch retailer for the device, with pre-orders starting later today.

Moto G4

The Moto G4 is the slimmer version of the pair. The device lacks the fingerprint sensor available on the G4 Plus, and the camera sensor has been downsized to 13MP. Only 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage are available.

In the UK, the Moto G will sell from early June at various retailers for prices starting from £169. The Indian pricing hasn’t been revealed yet.